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#noWAsharkcull

We protested in Manly on Saturday to unite with Cottesloe Beach rally and other supporters in Australian states – > NSW, WA, QLD, SA and internationally in New Zealand, against the new Shark Cull policy the WA government has implemented for millions of dollars that they refer to as: “shark mitigation strategies”.

Colin Barnett the front man for the policy and is employing professional fisherman to hunt and kill sharks over 3 meters in kill zone areas and set down 72 drum line baited shark hooks 1km off the coast of WA. All sharks found still alive on the drum lines over 3 meters will be killed and thrown back into the ocean dead.

The shark cull is targeting Great White Sharks, Bull sharks and Tiger sharks. Even though the Great White Shark are listed as a vulnerable species.

Great White Sharks are declared protected by the Australian federal government in commonwealth waters under the environmental protection and biodiversity conservation act 1999.

Wikipedia names Greg Hunt, the Federal environmental minister who allowed WA government an exemption from national environmental laws for the new shark culling policy.

The drum lines and bait hooks will not only have a devastating effect on shark numbers but will also be affecting threatened species such as any of the 6 species of turtles found in Australian waters, rays, dolphins and whales.

Colin Barnett and the WA government believe the drum lines, baited hooks and these kill zones will reduce the threat of shark attacks because the bait will attract the sharks to the hooks instead of the beaches.

Many conservation groups are threatening to interfere with the bait on these lines which the government responded with an announcement of a $25,000 fine or up to a year in prison for anyone caught interfering with the drum lines even though there have already been reports of hooks found without bait.

The protests are continuing in WA, and are being organized on an international level in Cape Town, when Colin Barnett attends the Mining conference tomorrow – Feb 5th South Africa.

I used my blog post to learn more about the facts which I wanted to share today before the protest in South Africa with the hopes it will reach more and more people.